This invention relates to a formula and method of removing tobacco related odor from air and/or neutralizing the same.
It has long been known, as is exemplified by the applicable medical and environmental literature, that certain glycols may be employed in aerosols or vapor form in order to sterilize, that is, disinfect the air by killing airborne bacteria therein.
The similar objective is recited in U.S. Pat. No. 5,591,395 (1997) to Schroeder, entitled Method of Disinfecting Air. However, none of said prior art has specifically focused upon the problem of neutralizing cigarette, cigar or tobacco related odor in the air, that is, odor neutralization. Odor neutralization is generally accomplished through elastrostatic linking, that is, ionic bonding of a marketing agent to the odor causing molecules or particulates. In distinction, sterilization generally requires a chemical coaction, i.e., a covalent bonding to kill specific offending bacteria or de-activate an organic molecule or group thereof. Accordingly, to the knowledge of the within inventor, glycol vapors, including triethylene glycol vapors, have, in the prior art, only been used for purposes of disinfecting or sterilizing air, that is, not for the specific purpose of odor neutralization in which sterilization does not constitute a primary objective thereof. As such, there does not exist in the prior art any specific method of air sterilization in which the focus thereof is that of masking or neutralization of tobacco generated smoke odor.
The present invention comprises a non-aerosol, non-wick pump spray system consisting of an emulsion of triethylene glycol, a surfactant such as sodium ABS, and a fragrance such as vanilla/almond, all within distilled water.
It is an object of the invention to provide a pump spray delivered system of tobacco smoke odor neutralization.
It is another object to provide an improved and cost-effective means of removal of tobacco generated smoke odor from residential environments.
It s a further object to provide a means of the above type that will further sterilize air of any airborne bacteria which may be carried additionally by tobacco smoke generated molecules.
The above and yet other objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the hereinafter set forth Detailed Description of the Invention.
There are no drawings in this application.
As above noted, it is known that to accomplish odor removal, some form of sanitizing agent must be projected into the air in order to link with the odor causing particles. Further, it is believed, that an agent, to be effective, must physically attach, and preferably envelope, to the odor causing particle. Therefore, any such odor neutralization system to be effective, must make use of a mechanism by which molecules of the active agent will attach and/or react with the odor generating molecules or particles to neutralize the same, either through chemical reaction, or by some mechanism, masking the odor generating aspect of such materials.
It has been found that certain glycols are capable of reacting with airborne bacteria and thereby destroying the health threatening function thereof. However, the within inventor has determined that the particular glycol known as triethylene glycol, when delivered in a suitable state of vaporization, will link with odor causing particles of tobacco-smoke based odors to mask the (as yet not fully known) odor causing mechanism of tobacco smoke. Accordingly, through the below set forth use of triethylene glycol as a smoke odor neutralizer, a substantial reduction, that is, neutralization, of odor as it can be detected by the human olfactory system, can be accomplished.
In that glycols are water soluble, distilled water has been selected as the primary carrier for the present system. In addition, a suitable surfactant is used to increase the solubility and dispersion of the glycol within the water used in the present system.
It has been found that the following formula, when used in a standard non-aerosol hand pump container, is capable of generating vapors and particulates of suitable size and concentration to attach to and, as above noted, suitably mask tobacco smoke generated odor.
The preferred embodiment of this formula is reflected in the following.